St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-08-13

The central figures in the Senate
Chamber, pending the Thirty-seventh
Congress, were Senators Foster, of Con-
necticut; Bayard and Willard Salisbury,
of Delaware; Douglas, of Illinois !;
Bright, of Indiana; Breckenridge, of
Kentucky; Morrill, and Fessenden, of
Maine; Sumner and Wilson, of Massa-
chl1setts; Chandler, of Michigan; Rice,
of Minnesota; Hale, of New Hampshire ;
Wade and Sherman, of Ohio; Baker, of
Oregon; Wilmot, of Pennsylvania; An
thony, of Rhode Island; Johnson, of
Tennessee; Foot and Collamer, of Ver-
mont, and Howe, of Wisconsin.
1t will doubtless be recalled that Sena-
tor Breckenridge, who, as Vice President
under the administration of President
Buchanan, had just vacated the chair as
presiding officer of the Senate, was the
defeated Democratic candidate for the
presidency against Abraham Lincoln, and
also that Senator Douglas occupied meas
urably the same relation of non-success,
Mr.. Lincoln having received 100 cleo
toral votes, Mr.. Breckenridge seventy
two, Mr.. Bell thirty-nine and Mr.. Douglas
twelve. AS a coincidence, it may be
mentioned that two of the sitting sena-
tors subsequently became Vice President
johnson and Wilson-Mr Johnson,
however, succeeding to the presidency
upon the death of Mr. Lincoln. Sena-
tors Fessenden, Morrill, and Sherman
subsequently became Secretaries of the
Treasury, Harlan and Zachariah Chan
dler Secretaries of the Interior, and Howe
Postmaster General.
Jesse D. Bright had been acting Vice
President by virtue of election to the
presidency pro tenn. of the Senate in 1854,
pending the administration of Franklin
Pierce, William R. King, of Alabama,
the Vice President elect, having died in
April, 1858, without assuming the office,
although he was sworn in before an
American consul in Cuba, to which
point he had repaired in hope of bene
fitting his failing health. Lafayette S.
Foster and Benjamin F. Wade were like
wise acting Vice Presidents, having been
chosen successfully as Presidents pro
Vice President Andrew Johnson to the
presidency.
Senator Collamer, of Vermont, entered
the Cabinet of President Taylor as Post
master General, and upon the latter's death
remained in like position in the Cabinet
of President Fillmore, serving in that
capacity from March 4, 1949, to July Is,
1850. He had been chosen representa-
tive in Congress for three successive
terms, from 1943 to 1S49. Upon retiring
from the Cabinet he resumed his old
position as one of the judges of the Su-
preme Court of Vermont, of which tri-
bunal he had been member from 1888
to 1941, and in 1854 he was chosen a
senator. He was reelected for a second
term, ending in 1867, but died in 1865, at
Woodstock. Senator Oollamer was born
in 1892 at Troy, N. Y, but removed with
his parents to Vermont at an early age.
He served with credit as an officer of
volunteers in the war Of 1912, and was
held in high estimation throughout all
his public career. He received the de-
gree of LII. D. from the Vermont Uni
versity and Dartmouth College.
His colleague, Solomon Foot, was
equally distinguished. He was born in
Vermont in 1902, and commenced life
as tutor, subsequently coming to the
par and acquiring eminent reputation as
profound lawyer. He served two terms
in the House of Representatives, from
1843 to 1847, and was chosen senator for
three successive terms, from 1851 to
1859, but died at Washington in March
1866, greatly lamented. He was Presi-
dent pro tenn of the Senate for nearly six
years. Senator Foot was succeeded in
the Senate by George F. EdmunGs, and
Senator Collamer by Luke P. Poland,
recently deceased.
Senator Lafayette s. Foster was born
in Connecticut in 1906, and was direct
descendant of Miles Standish, of the
pilgrim Fathers" and plymouth Rock"
fame. He came to the bar in 1884, was
chosen senator in 1866 and reelected to
second term ending March 3, 1867.
Senator Foster welded wide influence in
the senatorial body, and during the
stormy period of the civil war was one
of the principal advisers of President
Lincoln. Collectively considered, Sena-
tors Bayard, Salisbury, Sumner, Viii
son, Douglas, Hale, Fessenden, Wade,
Collamer, Foot, Foster, Johnson, Baker,
McDougall, Chandler, Sherman, Howe,
Breckenridge, Bright and Wilmot were
as able and intellectual congregation
Of men as ever served in the Senate
Of these senators Bayard graduated
from Princeton, Salisbury from Della
ware and Dickinson, Hale and Fessen-
den from Bowdoin, Collamer from the
Vermont University, Foot from Middle
bury, Foster from Brown, Breckenridge
from Centre and Princeton, Wilmot from
Bethany, and Sumner from Harvard.
Senators McDougall, Sherman, Chandler,
Howe and Bright received an academic
education. Senators Douglas and Ben
Wade were poor youths, whose early
education, was obtained under difficult
ties, and both taught country school
while study ing the profession of law.
Andrew Johnson was self-taught, and
could neither read nor write until after
he had obtained his majority, his first
teacher in rudimentary education being
his wife. Henry Wilson, whose original
name was "Colbath," received limited
education, and was a journeyman shoe